Waste upgrading and related systems

ABSTRACT

A method upgrading waste to produce fuel can include: introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a 450° C. to 1050° C. coking zone of a reactor containing a fluidized bed of coke particles maintained at coking temperatures to produce a vapor phase hydrocarbon product while coke is deposited on the coke particles; allowing the coke particles to pass downwards to a stripper section of the reactor; introducing a steam stream into the stripper section; transferring the coke particles from the stripper section to a gasifier/burner; contacting the coke particles in the gasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen-limited atmosphere at 850° C. to 1200° C. to heat the coke particles and form a fuel gas product that comprises carbon monoxide and hydrogen; recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier/burner to the coking zone of the reactor; and introducing at least one waste stream to the reactor and/or the gasifier/burner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/720,969, filed Aug. 22, 2018, which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

According to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency, Americansgenerated about 259 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2014. About90 million tons were recycled or composted, 33 million tons were burnedfor energy recovery, and 136 million tons were landfilled. An example ofburning for energy recovery involves burning the waste in a combustionchamber where the heat produced converts water to steam. The steam issent to a turbine generator that produces electricity. The remaining ashis collected and sent to landfills. There is a need for other ways ofprocessing waste to useful products.

SUMMARY

This application relates to upgrading waste to produce fuel and therelated systems.

A method in accordance with aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter comprises: introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a cokingzone at 450° C. to 1050° C. of a reactor containing a fluidized bed ofcoke particles maintained at coking temperatures to produce a vaporphase hydrocarbon product while coke is deposited on the coke particles;allowing the coke particles to pass downwards in the reactor to astripper section of the reactor; introducing a steam stream into thestripper section of the reactor; transferring the coke particles fromthe stripper section of the reactor to a gasifier/burner; contacting thecoke particles in the gasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in anoxygen-limited atmosphere at 850° C. to 1200° C. to heat the cokeparticles and form a fuel gas product that comprises carbon monoxide andhydrogen; recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier/burnerto the coking zone of the reactor; and introducing at least one wastestream to the reactor and/or the gasifier/burner.

A system in accordance with aspects of the presently disclosed subjectmatter comprises: a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, asteam stream, and a hot coke stream and produces a vapor-phasehydrocarbon product stream and a cold coke stream; a gasifier/burnerthat receives the cold coke stream and an oxygen-containing gas streamand produces the hot coke stream and a fuel gas stream; and one or moreof: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbonfeed stream that is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-richwaste stream received by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich wastestream entrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor;and a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containinggas stream received by the gasifier/burner.

An alternative system in accordance with aspects of the presentlydisclosed subject matter comprises: a reactor that receives ahydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and a hot coke stream andproduces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream and a cold cokestream; a heater that receives the cold coke stream, a partly gasifiedcoke stream, and a first fuel gas stream and produces the hot cokestream, a second fuel gas stream, and a heated coke stream; agasifier/burner that receives the heated coke stream and anoxygen-containing gas stream and produces the partly gasified cokestream and the first fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a firsthydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed streamthat is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste streamreceived by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste streamentrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and afirst water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gasstream received by the gasifier/burner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following figures are included to illustrate certain aspects of theembodiments, and should not be viewed as exclusive embodiments. Thesubject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modifications,alterations, combinations, and equivalents in form and function, as willoccur to those skilled in the art and having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example fluid-bed coking unit for producing fuelgas stream and vapor phase hydrocarbon product from one or more wastestreams according to the present application.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example FLEXICOKING™ unit with three reactionvessels for producing fuel gas stream and vapor phase hydrocarbonproduct from one or more waste streams according to the presentapplication.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example FLEXICOKING™ unit with two reactionvessels for producing fuel gas stream and vapor phase hydrocarbonproduct from one or more waste streams according to the presentapplication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application relates to upgrading waste to produce fuel andthe related systems. More specifically, hydrocarbon-rich waste andoptionally water-rich waste can be used as a portion of the feed forFLEXICOKING™ methods and fluid-bed coking methods that produce fuel gas.

Definitions

The term “coke” refers to the solid residue remaining from the pyrolysisof hydrocarbons.

As used herein, the term “hydrocarbon-rich waste” refers to waste thatat 15° C. is a liquid or solid containing at least 10 wt %, preferablymore than 50 wt %, compounds made from primarily carbon and hydrogen(that is, at least 75 mol % of the compounds are cumulatively carbon andhydrogen). Two non-limiting examples of hydrocarbon-rich waste arerefinery tank bottoms and plastics.

As used herein, the term “water-rich waste” refers to waste that at 15°C. is a liquid containing at least 10 wt %, preferably more than 50 wt%, water.

As used herein, the term “oxygen-limited atmosphere” refers to asub-stoichiometric usage of O₂ for complete combustion of hydrocarbonsinclude coke to CO₂ and H₂O. Preferably, the O₂ deficiency is maintainedat a level to have minority moles of carbon oxides be carbon dioxide.

As used herein, the term “resid” refers to the complex mixture of heavypetroleum compounds otherwise known in the art as residuum or residual.

As used herein, the term “fuel gas” refers to a gas comprising carbonmonoxide and hydrogen in a combined concentration of at least 20 wt %,preferably at least 30 wt %, and more preferably at least 90 wt %.Carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen may also be included in fuel gas.

General Methods and Systems

Heavy petroleum oils and residual fractions derived from them arecharacterized by a combination of properties which may be summarized ashigh initial boiling point, high molecular weight, and low hydrogencontent relative to lower boiling fractions such as naphtha, gasoline,and distillates; frequently these heavy oils and high boiling fractionsexhibit high density (low API gravity), high viscosity, high carbonresidue, high nitrogen content, high sulfur content, and high metalscontent.

Technologies for upgrading heavy petroleum feedstocks can be broadlydivided into carbon rejection and hydrogen addition processes. Carbonrejection redistributes hydrogen among the various components, resultingin fractions with increased H/C atomic ratios and products includingfractions with lower H/C atomic ratios and solid coke-like materials.Carbon rejection processes may be either non-catalytic or catalytic.Both can be said generally to operate at moderate to high temperaturesand low pressures and suffer from a lower liquid yield of transportationfuels than hydrogen addition processes, because a large fraction of thefeedstock is rejected as solid coke; light gases are also formed asby-products in the thermal cracking reactions and, being of high H/Cratio tend to degrade the quantity of the more valuable liquid products.The liquids are generally of poor quality and must normally behydrotreated before they can be used as feeds for catalytic processes tomake transportation fuels.

Thermal cracking processes include those such as visbreaking, whichoperate under relatively mild conditions and are intended mainly toincrease the yields of distillates from residual fractions. Cokingprocesses, by contrast, operate at significantly higher severities andproduce substantial quantities of coke as the by-product; the amount ofthe coke is typically of the order of one-third the weight of the feed.The main coking processes now in use are delayed coking, fluid-bedcoking, and a fluid-bed coking variant known as FLEXICOKING™.

The present application relates to upgrading waste like municipal andindustrial waste by using it as a feedstock in FLEXICOKING™ methods andfluid-bed coking methods that produce fuel gas and hydrocarbon products.The waste streams can include hydrocarbon-rich waste and, optionally,water-rich waste.

The hydrocarbon-rich waste can include, for example, waste frommunicipal sources, commercial sources, industrial sources, and the like,and combinations thereof. Specific examples of hydrocarbon-rich wastecan include, but are not limited to, animal fats, plant fats (e.g.,frying and cooking oil), plastics, wood chips, chemical solvents,pigments, sludge, paints, paper products (e.g., paper and cardboard),construction materials, compost, agricultural waste (e.g., spoiled orunwanted crops/fruits and watermelon shell), and combinations thereof.

The water-rich waste can include waste from municipal sources,commercial sources, industrial sources, or a combination thereof.Specific examples of water-rich waste can include, but are not limitedto, diapers, food waste (e.g., from restaurants and households), abenzene containing wastewater (e.g., benzene containing refinery waterwaste such as desalter bottoms), an industrial wastewater containinghydrocarbons (e.g., API separator waste), and combinations thereof.

Preferably, the hydrocarbon-rich waste and the water-rich waste areabsent metal (especially volatile metals like mercury) and glass.However, small amounts of metal (e.g., less than 1 wt %) may betolerated provided that the metal is non-volatile. Such metals may layon the produced coke particles and be recovered with further processing.

Hydrocarbon-rich waste and optionally water-rich waste can be used as aportion of the feed for FLEXICOKING™ methods and fluid-bed cokingmethods that produce fuel gas.

A general method of the in accordance with aspects of the presentlydisclosed subject matter that applies to FLEXICOKING™ methods andfluid-bed coking methods includes the following steps: introducing ahydrocarbon feed stream into a coking zone of a reactor containing afluidized bed of coke particles maintained at coking temperatures (e.g.,about 40° C. to about 1050° C., preferably about 150° C. to about 900°C., preferably about 300° C. to about 750° C., and more preferably about450° C. to about 650° C.) to about to produce a vapor phase hydrocarbonproduct while coke is deposited on the coke particles; introducing asteam stream into a stripper section of the reactor; allowing the cokeparticles to pass downwards in the reactor to a stripper section of thereactor; transferring the coke particles from the stripper section ofthe reactor to a gasifier/burner; contacting the coke particles in thegasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen-limited atmosphereat an elevated temperature to heat the coke particles and form a fuelgas product that comprises carbon monoxide and hydrogen; recycling theheated coke particles from the gasifier/burner to the coking zone of thereactor; and introducing at least one waste stream to the reactor and/orthe gasifier/burner.

In fluid-bed coking methods, a burner is used. In FLEXICOKING™ methods,a gasifier is used. In some FLEXICOKING™ methods, a heater section (alsoreferred to herein simply as a heater) is included between the reactorand the gasifier.

A cyclone system is typically used to remove coke fines from the fuelgas. For example, a cyclone system can include serially connectedprimary and secondary cyclones with diplegs that return the separatedfines to the fluid bed in the vessel in which the cyclone system isconnected or a part of. The cyclone system can be a portion of thegasifier/burner. When a heater section is included in FLEXICOKING™methods, the cyclone system can be included as part of the heatersection.

Typically, the coking zone of the reactor operates at about 450° C. toabout 850° C., and the combustion or gasification zone of the burneroperate at about 850° C. to about 1000° C. However, depending on thecomposition of the waste streams, these zones of the reactor and burneror gasifier may be operated at a higher temperature to reduce buildupsticky, adherent high molecular weight hydrocarbon deposits on theparticles that could lead to reactor fouling. For example, when plasticis a large component of the hydrocarbon-rich waste, the coking zone ofthe reactor may be operated at a higher temperature to ensure crackingand mitigate reactor and coke particle fouling. For higher operatingtemperatures, the coking zone of the reactor operates at about 850° C.to about 1050° C., and the combustion or gasification zone of the burneror gasifier operate at about 1000° C. to about 1200° C. where thecombustion or gasification zone is at a higher temperature than thecoking zone. Therefore, the methods described herein can be performedwith the coking zone of the reactor operating at about 450° C. to about1050° C. and the combustion or gasification zone of the burner orgasifier operating at about 850° C. to about 1200° C. where thecombustion or gasification zone is at a higher temperature than thecoking zone. Preferably, the coking zone of the reactor operates atabout 600° C. to about 1050° C. and the combustion or gasification zoneof the burner or gasifier operate at about 950° C. to about 1200° C.

The methods in accordance with aspects of the presently disclosedsubject matter advantageously upgrade waste (hydrocarbon-rich wasteand/or water-rich waste) to fuel gas and hydrocarbon product. The fuelgas (also known as syngas) is useful as an intermediate when producing,for example, ammonia, methanol, and synthetic hydrocarbon fuels.Additionally, fuel gas can be combusted to produce electricity. Further,the hydrocarbon products comprise C₅₊-rich hydrocarbons that can be usedin various industrial processes and as components to be processed forblending into gasoline, jet, kerosene and diesel.

Fluid-Bed Coking Units

FIG. 1 illustrates an example fluid-bed coking unit 100 for producingfuel gas stream 101 and vapor phase hydrocarbon product 102 from one ormore waste streams according to the present application. As illustrated,three possible waste streams can be used in the fluid-bed coking unit100: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103, a secondhydrocarbon-rich waste stream 104, and a first water-rich waste stream105. While each are referred to in the description below as optional,one or more are required for the present invention.

The fluid-bed coking unit 100 includes a reactor 107 containing cokeparticles that are maintained in the fluidized condition at the requiredreaction temperature for hydrocarbon cracking (e.g., at about 450° C. toabout 1050° C.). A gaseous stream, preferably a steam stream 108 isinjected at the bottom of the reactor 107 with the average direction ofmovement of the coke particles being downwards through the bed.Optionally, a first water-rich waste stream 105 can be used incombination with (shown) or in alternative of (not shown) the steamstream 108.

Hydrocarbon feed stream 109 is preheated to a temperature, typically inthe range of 350° C. to 400° C. and introduced into the reactor 107. Thehydrocarbon feed stream 109 can include, but is not limited to, resids,petroleum vacuum distillation bottoms, aromatic extracts, asphalts,steam cracker tar, and bitumens (e.g., from tar sands, tar pits, and/orpitch lakes), and combinations thereof.

Optionally, a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103 can be entrainedwith the hydrocarbon feed stream 109. The first hydrocarbon-rich wastestream 103 can be derived from liquid waste and/or solid waste. Whenusing solid waste, the waste can, if needed, be chopped into smallpieces so that it can be easily transported and distributed in thefluid-bed coking unit 100. The first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103can optionally have a carrier gas like air, steam, or a hydrocarbon gas,which may assist in transportation of the waste in the fluid-bed cokingunit 100. The hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103 optionally in thecarrier gas can also be heated before entraining in the hydrocarbon feedstream 109. A carrier liquid such as heavy hydrocarbon streams may alsobe used. This stream may also dissolve the waste before injection.

The hydrocarbon feed stream 109, optionally with entrained the firsthydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103, is fed through multiple feed nozzleswhich may be arranged at several successive levels in the reactor 107including one or more coking zones of the reactor 107. An advantage ofutilizing a fluidized coke bed reactor for waste management is itsrobustness for handling various solid particle sizes in variousconcentrations. As described above, the coking zone(s) can be attemperatures of about 450° C. to about 1050° C.

Steam stream 108 is injected into a stripping section at the bottom ofthe reactor 107 and passes upwards through the coke particles descendingthrough the dense phase of the fluid bed in the main part of the reactorabove the stripping section. Part of the hydrocarbon feed stream 109injected into the reactor 107 coats the coke particles in the fluidizedbed and is subsequently cracked into (1) layers of solid coke and (2) ahydrocarbon product stream 102 that evolves as gas or vaporized liquid.Reactor pressure is preferably relatively low in order to favorvaporization of the hydrocarbons. The vapor-phase hydrocarbon productstream 102 are separated from the coke particles and extracted from thereactor 107. Typically, the vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream 102comprises, in the majority (i.e., greater than 50 wt %, preferablygreater than 75 wt %, most preferably greater than 85 wt %), a C₅₊-richproduct. The vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream 102 can befractionated where the heavier hydrocarbons can be recycled back to thereactor 107 (e.g., by being entrained with the hydrocarbon feed 109).

The coke particles formed in the coking zone pass downwards in thereactor 107 and leave the bottom of the reactor vessel through astripper section where they are exposed to steam stream 108 in order toremove occluded hydrocarbons. The coke particles at this point in thefluid-bed coking unit 100 are referred to herein as “cold coke.” A coldcoke stream 110 from the reactor 107 (consisting mainly of carbon withlesser amounts of hydrogen, sulfur, nitrogen, and traces of vanadium,nickel, iron, and other elements derived from the hydrocarbon feed 109and optionally entrained first hydrocarbon-rich feed stream 103) passesthrough the stripper section and out of the reactor 107 to a burner(typically referred to as a gasifier in FLEXICOKING™ processes/systemsand burner in fluid-bed coking processes/systems) 111 where the coke inthe gasifier is partly burned in a fluidized bed (e.g., at a temperatureof about 850° C. to about 1200° C.) with an oxygen-containing gas stream112 in an oxygen-limited atmosphere to raise the temperature of the cokeand produce fuel gas. The heated coke is removed (e.g., via a cyclonesystem (not shown)) from the fuel gas to produce a fuel gas stream 101.Hot coke is extracted from the burner 111 and supplied to the reactor107 as a hot coke stream 113. The hot coke stream 113 supplies the heatrequired for the endothermic coking reactions occurring in the reactor107.

Optionally, a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 104 can also besupplied to the burner 111.

The illustrated fluid-bed coking unit 100 upgrades one or more wastestreams 103, 104, 105 to a fuel gas stream 101 and a vapor phasehydrocarbon product stream 102.

FLEXICOKING™ Units

The FLEXICOKING™ process, developed by Exxon Research and EngineeringCompany, is a non-catalytic thermal conversion process with a continuousand totally contained fluidized bed integrated coking and gasificationtechnology. In this process, fluid coke produced in the reactor isgasified with process steam and air to produce a higher value fuel gas(FLEXIGAS™).

The FLEXICOKING™ process is described in patents of Exxon Research andEngineering Company, including, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,543(Saxton), U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,676 (Lahn), U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,084(Moser), U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,516 (Luckenbach), and U.S. Pat. No.4,269,696 (Metrailer). A variant is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,848(Saxton) in which the heat requirement of the reactor coking zone issatisfied by introducing a stream of light hydrocarbons from the productfractionator into the reactor instead of the stream of hot cokeparticles from the heater. Another variant is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,472,596 (Kerby) using a stream of light paraffins injected into thehot coke return line to generate olefins. Early work proposed units witha stacked configuration but later units have migrated to a side-by-sidearrangement. Aspects of the FLEXICOKING™ process are described in Cokingwithout the Coke, Kamienski et al., Hydrocarbon Engineering March 2008.

The FLEXICOKING™ unit may be a conventional three-vessel unit ofcracking reactor, heater, and gasifier or, alternatively, a two-vesselunit of reactor and gasifier in which the coke from the reactor passesdirectly to the gasifier and hot, partly gasified coke particles fromthe gasifier are cycled back to the reactor to provide the heat for theendothermic cracking reactions. A unit of this type is described in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0368572 (Rajagopalan), to whichreference is made for a description of the unit and its method ofoperation.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example FLEXICOKING™ unit 220 with three reactionvessels (a reactor 221, a heater 222, and a gasifier 223) inside-by-side arrangement; although the footprint of the side-by-sidearrangement is larger than that of the stacked units shown in U.S. Pat.No. 3,661,543 (Saxton) and 3,816,084 (Moser), it is less subject toupsets and potential equipment failures as noted in U.S. Pat. No.3,759,676 (Lahn) and has now become conventional.

The FLEXICOKING™ unit 220, as illustrated, includes four possible wastestreams: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 224, a secondhydrocarbon-rich waste stream 225, a first water-rich waste stream 226,and a second water-rich waste stream 226. While each are referred to inthe description below as optional, one or more are required for thepresent invention.

The FLEXICOKING™ unit 220 comprises reactor section 221 with the cokingzone (e.g., at about 450° C. to about 1050° C.) and its associatedstripping and scrubbing sections (not separately indicated asconventional), a heater section 222, and a gasifier section 223. Therelationship of the coking zone, scrubbing zone, and stripping zone inthe reactor section is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,596(Kerby), to which reference is made for a description of theFLEXICOKING™ unit and its reactor section. A hydrocarbon feed stream 228is introduced into the reactor 221, optionally with a hydrocarbon-richwaste stream 224 entrained therein. A vapor phase hydrocarbon product229 is withdrawn from the reactor 221. A steam stream 230 is supplied tothe reactor 221 for fluidizing and stripping the coke particles toproduce cold coke. Optionally, the first water-rich waste stream 226 canbe entrained in the steam stream 230 (shown) or used in alternative ofthe steam stream 230 (not shown).

A cold coke stream 232 passes from the reactor 221 to the heater 222.The heater 222 raises the temperature of the coke particles. A cokestream 233 from heater 222 is transferred to gasifier 223. Anoxygen-containing gas stream 234 is introduced to the gasifier 223 in anoxygen-limited atmosphere and used for combustion to produce fuel gasand hot, partly gasified particles of coke. The gasification zone(s) ofthe gasifier 223 can be at temperatures of about 850° C. to 1200° C.Optionally, the oxygen-containing gas stream 234 can be entrained with asteam stream 235, which optionally can be entrained with the secondwater-waste stream 227 or be replaced with the second water-waste stream227. Optionally, a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 225 can beintroduced to the gasifier 223 where the hydrocarbons participate incombustion.

A stream 236 of hot, partly gasified particles of coke stream a separatefirst fuel gas stream 237 are supplied from the gasifier 223 to theheater 222. The coke particles and fuel gas are further heated in theheater 222, which further gasifies the coke particles. A cyclone system238 is used to remove coke particles from the fuel gas to produce asecond fuel gas stream 239. The hot coke stream 240 (hot coke extractedfrom the heater 222) is then introduced back into the reactor 221.Excess coke is withdrawn from the heater 222 in excess coke stream 241.

The illustrated FLEXICOKING™ unit 220 upgrades one or more waste streams224, 225, 226, 227 to the second fuel gas stream 239 and the vapor phasehydrocarbon product stream 229.

FIG. 3 illustrates another FLEXICOKING™ unit 350 with two reactionvessels: a reactor 351 and gasifier 352. The illustrated FLEXICOKING™unit 350 includes four possible waste streams: a first hydrocarbon-richwaste stream 353, a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 354, a firstwater-rich waste stream 355, and a second water-rich waste stream 356.While each are referred to in the description below as optional, one ormore are required for the present invention.

The reactor 351 operates in the same manner as reactor 221 of FIG. 2.The reactor 351 receives hydrocarbon feed stream 357 (which optionallycan have the first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 353 entrained therein)and steam stream 358 (which optionally can have the first water-richwaste stream 355 entrained therein (shown) or in alternative is thefirst water-rich waste stream 355 (not shown)). The reactor 351 producesvapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream 360 and cold coke stream 360. Thegasifier, which has an oxygen-limited atmosphere, receives cold cokestream 360 from the reactor 351, an oxygen-containing gas stream 361(optionally having a steam stream 362 entrained therein, where the steamstream optionally can have the second water-rich waste stream 356entrained therein (shown) or in alternative is the first water-richwaste stream 356 (not shown)), and optionally a second hydrocarbon-richwaste stream 356. Cyclone system 363 is included with the gasifier 352to remove the hot coke from the fuel gas to produce a fuel gas stream365. The hot coke stream 364 (hot coke extracted from the gasifier 352)is recycled to the reactor 351. The fuel gas stream 365 can optionallybe split and recycled back into the gasifier 352 to assist withoptimizing the flue gas composition and maintaining the optimumoperating conditions.

The illustrated FLEXICOKING™ unit 350 upgrades one or more waste streams353, 354, 355, 356 to a fuel gas stream 365 and a vapor phasehydrocarbon product stream 359.

A first nonlimiting example method of the present invention comprises:introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a coking zone at 450° C. to1050° C. of a reactor containing a fluidized bed of coke particlesmaintained at coking temperatures to produce a vapor phase hydrocarbonproduct while coke is deposited on the coke particles; allowing the cokeparticles to pass downwards in the reactor to a stripper section of thereactor; introducing a steam stream into a stripper section of thereactor; transferring the coke particles from the stripper section ofthe reactor to a gasifier/burner; contacting the coke particles in thegasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen-limited atmosphereat 850° C. to 1200° C. to heat the coke particles and form a fuel gasproduct that comprises carbon monoxide and hydrogen; recycling theheated coke particles from the gasifier/burner to the coking zone of thereactor; and introducing at least one waste stream to the reactor and/orthe gasifier/burner.

Optionally, the first nonlimiting example method can include one or moreof the following: Element 1: wherein the at least one waste streamcomprises a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream and the method furthercomprises: entraining the first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream into thehydrocarbon feed stream before introduction into the reactor; Element 2:wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a secondhydrocarbon-rich waste stream and the method further comprises:introducing the second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream to thegasifier/burner; Element 3: one or more of Elements 1-2 wherein thefirst and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises tank bottomsand/or crude emulsion solids; Element 4: one or more of Elements 1-3wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream compriseswaste from one or more of: a municipal source, a commercial source, andan industrial source; Element 5: one or more of Elements 1-4 wherein thefirst and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises at least oneselected from the group consisting of: an animal fat, a plant fat, aplastic, a wood chip, a chemical solvent, a pigment, sludge, a paint, apaper product, a construction material, compost, agricultural waste, andany combination thereof; Element 6: one or more of Elements 1-5 choppinghydrocarbon-rich waste; and entraining the chopped hydrocarbon-richwaste with air, steam, a hydrocarbon gas, a hydrocarbon liquid, or acombination thereof to produce the first and/or second hydrocarbon-richwaste stream; Element 7: wherein the at least one waste stream comprisesa first water-rich waste stream and the method further comprises:entraining the first water-rich waste stream into the steam streambefore introduction to the stripper portion of the reactor; Element 8:wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, the at least one waste streamcomprises a second water-rich waste stream, and the method furthercomprises: introducing the second water-rich waste stream into thegasifier; and further contacting the coke particles in the gasifier withsteam; Element 9: one or more of Elements 7-8 wherein the first and/orsecond water-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or more of: amunicipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source; Element10: one or more of Elements 7-9 wherein the first and/or secondwater-rich waste stream comprises at least one selected from the groupconsisting of: a diaper, a food waste, a benzene containing waste water,an industrial waste water containing hydrocarbons, and any combinationthereof; Element 11: one or more of Elements 7-10 further comprising:chopping water-rich waste; and entraining the chopped water-rich wastewith air, steam, or water to produce the first and/or second water-richwaste stream; Element 12: one or more of Elements 7-11 wherein thewater-rich waste stream comprises wastewater contaminated withhydrocarbons; Element 13: wherein the hydrocarbon feed stream comprisesone selected from the group consisting of: resids, petroleum vacuumdistillation bottoms, aromatic extracts, asphalts, steam cracker tar,and bitumens from tar sands, tar pits, and pitch lakes; Element 14:wherein the coking zone of the reactor is at 850° C. to 1050° C.;Element 15: wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, and wherein agasification zone of the gasifier is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.; Element16: the first nonlimiting example method optionally with one or more ofElements 1-7 and 9-14 wherein the gasifier/burner is a burner, andwherein a combustion zone of the burner is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.; andElement 17: the first nonlimiting example method optionally with one ormore of Elements 1-15 wherein transferring the coke particles from thestripper section of the reactor to the gasifier includes passing thecoke particles through a heater, wherein recycling the heated cokeparticles from the gasifier to the coking zone of the reactor includespassing the coke particles through the heater, and wherein the fuel gasproduct is extracted from the heater as a fuel gas stream. Nonlimitingcombinations of elements include: Elements 1 and 2 in combination; twoor more of Elements 1, 2, 7, and 8 in combination; two or more ofElements 1, 2, 7, 8, and 17 in combination; two or more of Elements13-15 in combination optionally in further combination with one or moreof Elements 1, 2, 7, 8, and 17; and two or more of Elements 13, 14, and16 in combination optionally in further combination with one or more ofElements 1, 2, 7, and 8.

A first nonlimiting example system of the present invention comprises: areactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and ahot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product streamand a cold coke stream; a gasifier/burner that receives the cold cokestream and an oxygen-containing gas stream and produces the hot cokestream and a fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a firsthydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed streamthat is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste streamreceived by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste streamentrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and afirst water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gasstream received by the gasifier/burner.

A second nonlimiting example system of the present invention comprises:a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and ahot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product streamand a cold coke stream; a heater that receives the cold coke stream, apartly gasified coke stream, and a first fuel gas stream and producesthe hot coke stream, a second fuel gas stream, and a heated coke stream;a gasifier/burner that receives the heated coke stream and anoxygen-containing gas stream and produces the partly gasified cokestream and the first fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a firsthydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed streamthat is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste streamreceived by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste streamentrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and afirst water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gasstream received by the gasifier/burner.

Optionally, the first and nonlimiting example systems can,independently, include one or more of the following: Element 18: whereinthe first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises tankbottoms and/or crude emulsion solids; Element 19: wherein the firstand/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises waste from one ormore of: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrialsource; Element 20: wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-richwaste stream comprises at least one selected from the group consistingof: an animal fat, a plant fat, a plastic, a wood chip, a chemicalsolvent, a pigment, sludge, a paint, a paper product, a constructionmaterial, compost, agricultural waste, and any combination thereof;Element 21: a chopping unit along the first and/or secondhydrocarbon-rich waste stream; Element 22: wherein the first and/orsecond water-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or more of: amunicipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source; Element23: wherein the first and/or second water-rich waste stream comprises atleast one selected from the group consisting of: a diaper, a food waste,a benzene containing waste water, an industrial waste water containinghydrocarbons, and any combination thereof; Element 24: a chopping unitalong the first and/or second water-rich waste stream; Element 25:wherein the water-rich waste stream comprises wastewater contaminatedwith hydrocarbons; Element 26: wherein the hydrocarbon feed streamcomprises one selected from the group consisting of: resids, petroleumvacuum distillation bottoms, aromatic extracts, asphalts, steam crackertar, and bitumens from tar sands, tar pits, and pitch lakes; Element 27:wherein the coking zone of the reactor is at 850° C. to 1050° C.;Element 28: wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, and wherein agasification zone of the gasifier is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.; andElement 29: the first nonlimiting example method optionally with one ormore of Elements 18-27 wherein the gasifier/burner is a burner, andwherein a combustion zone of the burner is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.Nonlimiting combinations of elements include: Elements 21 and 24 incombination; two or more of Elements 18-20 in combination; two or moreof Elements 22, 23, and 25 in combination; one or more of Elements 18-20in combination with one or more of Elements 22, 23, and 25; two or moreof Elements 26-28 in combination optionally in further combination withone or more of Elements 18-25; and two or more of Elements 26, 27, and29 in combination optionally in further combination with one or more ofElements 18-25.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities ofingredients, properties such as molecular weight, reaction conditions,and so forth used in the present specification and associated claims areto be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.”Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parametersset forth in the following specification and attached claims areapproximations that may vary depending upon the desired propertiessought to be obtained by the embodiments of the present invention. Atthe very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of thedoctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claim, each numericalparameter should at least be construed in light of the number ofreported significant digits and by applying ordinary roundingtechniques.

One or more illustrative embodiments incorporating the inventionembodiments disclosed herein are presented herein. Not all features of aphysical implementation are described or shown in this application forthe sake of clarity. It is understood that in the development of aphysical embodiment incorporating the embodiments of the presentinvention, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made toachieve the developer's goals, such as compliance with system-related,business-related, government-related and other constraints, which varyby implementation and from time to time. While a developer's effortsmight be time-consuming, such efforts would be, nevertheless, a routineundertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art and having benefit ofthis disclosure.

While compositions and methods are described herein in terms of“comprising” various components or steps, the compositions and methodscan also “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the various componentsand steps.

Therefore, the present invention is well adapted to attain the ends andadvantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. Theparticular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as thepresent invention may be modified and practiced in different butequivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having thebenefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations areintended to the details of construction or design herein shown, otherthan as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that theparticular illustrative embodiments disclosed above may be altered,combined, or modified and all such variations are considered within thescope and spirit of the present invention. The invention illustrativelydisclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any elementthat is not specifically disclosed herein and/or any optional elementdisclosed herein. While compositions and methods are described in termsof “comprising,” “containing,” or “including” various components orsteps, the compositions and methods can also “consist essentially of” or“consist of” the various components and steps. All numbers and rangesdisclosed above may vary by some amount. Whenever a numerical range witha lower limit and an upper limit is disclosed, any number and anyincluded range falling within the range is specifically disclosed. Inparticular, every range of values (of the form, “from about a to aboutb,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a to b,” or, equivalently,“from approximately a-b”) disclosed herein is to be understood to setforth every number and range encompassed within the broader range ofvalues. Also, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaningunless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee.Moreover, the indefinite articles “a” or “an,” as used in the claims,are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that itintroduces.

1. A method comprising: introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a450° C. to 1050° C. coking zone of a reactor containing a fluidized bedof coke particles maintained at coking temperatures to produce a vaporphase hydrocarbon product while coke is deposited on the coke particles;allowing the coke particles to pass downwards in the reactor to astripper section of the reactor; introducing a steam stream into thestripper section of the reactor; transferring the coke particles fromthe stripper section of the reactor to a gasifier/burner; contacting thecoke particles in the gasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in anoxygen-limited atmosphere at 850° C. to 1200° C. to heat the cokeparticles and form a fuel gas product that comprises carbon monoxide andhydrogen; recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier/burnerto the coking zone of the reactor; and introducing at least one wastestream to the reactor and/or the gasifier/burner.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a firsthydrocarbon-rich waste stream and the method further comprises:entraining the first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream into the hydrocarbonfeed stream before introduction into the reactor.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a secondhydrocarbon-rich waste stream and the method further comprises:introducing the second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream to thegasifier/burner.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and/orsecond hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises tank bottoms and/or crudeemulsion solids.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and/orsecond hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or moreof: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source.6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and/or secondhydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises at least one selected from thegroup consisting of: an animal fat, a plant fat, a plastic, a wood chip,a chemical solvent, a pigment, sludge, a paint, a paper product, aconstruction material, compost, agricultural waste, and any combinationthereof.
 7. The method of claim 3 further comprising: choppinghydrocarbon-rich waste; and entraining the chopped hydrocarbon-richwaste with air, steam, a hydrocarbon gas, a hydrocarbon liquid, or acombination thereof to produce the first and/or second hydrocarbon-richwaste stream.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one wastestream comprises a first water-rich waste stream and the method furthercomprises: entraining the first water-rich waste stream into the steamstream before introduction to the stripper portion of the reactor. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, the atleast one waste stream comprises a second water-rich waste stream, andthe method further comprises: introducing the second water-rich wastestream into the gasifier; and further contacting the coke particles inthe gasifier with steam.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the firstand/or second water-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or moreof: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source.11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and/or second water-richwaste stream comprises at least one selected from the group consistingof: a diaper, a food waste, a benzene containing wastewater, anindustrial wastewater containing hydrocarbons, and any combinationthereof.
 12. The method of claim 9 further comprising: choppingwater-rich waste; and entraining the chopped water-rich waste with air,steam, or water to produce the first and/or second water-rich wastestream.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the water-rich waste streamcomprises wastewater contaminated with hydrocarbons.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon feed stream comprises one selected fromthe group consisting of: resids, petroleum vacuum distillation bottoms,aromatic extracts, asphalts, steam cracker tar, and bitumens from tarsands, tar pits, and pitch lakes.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein thecoking zone of the reactor is at 850° C. to 1050° C.
 16. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, and wherein agasification zone of the gasifier is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.
 17. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the gasifier/burner is a burner, and whereina combustion zone of the burner is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.
 18. Themethod of claim 1, and wherein transferring the coke particles from thestripper section of the reactor to the gasifier includes passing thecoke particles through a heater, wherein recycling the heated cokeparticles from the gasifier to the coking zone of the reactor includespassing the coke particles through the heater, and wherein the fuel gasproduct is extracted from the heater as a fuel gas stream.
 19. A systemcomprising: a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steamstream, and a hot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbonproduct stream and a cold coke stream; a gasifier/burner that receivesthe cold coke stream and an oxygen-containing gas stream and producesthe hot coke stream and a fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a firsthydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed streamthat is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste streamreceived by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste streamentrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and afirst water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gasstream received by the gasifier/burner.
 20. A system comprising: areactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and ahot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product streamand a cold coke stream; a heater that receives the cold coke stream, apartly gasified coke stream, and a first fuel gas stream and producesthe hot coke stream, a second fuel gas stream, and a heated coke stream;a gasifier/burner that receives the heated coke stream and anoxygen-containing gas stream and produces the partly gasified cokestream and the first fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a firsthydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed streamthat is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste streamreceived by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste streamentrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and afirst water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gasstream received by the gasifier/burner.